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RICHMOND – When a three-judge panel declared Virginia's 3rd Congressional District unconstitutional last October, the court told the General Assembly to redraw the map during its next legislative session. That session wraps up in a week, and there's no public evidence that legislators have begun the process. Speaker of the House William Howell said in a written statement Friday that legislators are waiting to hear back from the U.S. Supreme Court, which so far hasn't said whether it will take up the case. "We believe it would be inappropriate to act before the defendants have fully litigated this case," Howell said in his statement. Virginia's...

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RICHMOND – When a three-judge panel declared Virginia's 3rd Congressional District unconstitutional last October, the court told the General Assembly to redraw the map during its next legislative session.
That session wraps up in a week, and there's no...

After sitting idle on its plans to secure a financial institution that would potentially bank billions in taxpayer funds for major regional road projects, members of the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC) might now have the...

The Virginia House cast its final votes, for now, on nearly 200 bills Tuesday, doing quick work on a slew of issues, including formalizing its stance on proposed new day care regulations.
Those new reforms now cover 17 pages in House Bill 1570. Among...

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution entitles every American to equal protection under the law. That should mean that different individuals who commit the same criminal offense should face similar punishment, barring mitigating...

RICHMOND – The Virginia Senate narrowly defeated legislation Tuesday that would have forbidden state universities from granting in-state tuition to young people in the country illegally.Senate Bill 722 was defeated 20-19. It went down on a nearly...

State legislators responding to concerns about on-campus sexual assaults found a complex web of rules and agencies as they dove into the issue Friday, but remain intent on passing legislation in the coming weeks to address the issue.
Much of the focus is...

RICHMOND – Legislation meant to keep young people brought to the country illegally from qualifying for in-state tuition passed a key state Senate committee Thursday, but Gov. Terry McAuliffe promised to veto the bill if it wins full passage.
Senate...

The FBI is probing $600,000 worth of embezzlement from state Senate Democratic Leader Richard Saslaw's campaign account, the senator told The Washington Post and Richmond Times Dispatch Wednesday evening.
Saslaw said agents from the FBI told him the...

Here is the prepared text for Gov. Terry McAuliffe's 2015 State of the Commonwealth Address:
Lieutenant Governor Northam, Speaker Howell, Chairman Stosch, men and women of the General Assembly, distinguished guests, people of Virginia – thank you...

Sure things are a rarity when the state legislature rolls back into town.
That said, it's a pretty sure bet Virginia's legislators will talk about serious ethics reforms after the curtain goes up Wednesday on their 2015 session.
Thank federal...

House Democrats called on Del. Joe Morrissey to resign Saturday, one day after he struck a plea deal with prosecutors over his relationship with a teenage girl.
Morrissey, 57, was accused of having sex with the girl, who worked for him and who is now...

HAMPTON — An agreement between five local police departments to share telephone records obtained during criminal investigations came to light late this year.
The agencies — in Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Suffolk — signed an interagency...

Same-sex marriage is now legal in Virginia for the first time since the stage's inception as a colony more than 400 years ago.
It all began in July 2013, when a Norfolk couple — college English instructor Tim Bostic and real estate agent Tony London —...

Editor's note: "DP Buzz is an interactive feature of the Daily Press Press Opinion Page. We email weekly questions on issues and topics affecting Peninsula-area citizens. Each week, subscribers can choose whether to weigh in or not with a short...

Some of the hardest punishment former Gov. Bob McDonnell faces for being found guilty of corruption, his supporters argue, is losing his state pension. But that may not be a sure thing despite a state law that was meant to deny retirement benefits to...

The new Women's Equality Coalition rolled out its legislative agenda Thursday, calling for an end to some of Virginia's abortion regulations, better contraception access, expanded Medicaid and a host of other priorities.
Many of them are longshots in a...

Politicians and others from around the state are reacting to the conviction of Bob and Maureen McDonnell.
Here are some of them (this story will be updated throughout the day):
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
“I am deeply saddened by the events of the trial...

RICHMOND — Attorney General Mark Herring has dropped two of 13 banks from a lawsuit he is perusing related to the mortgage crisis, saying he discovered that the state had already settled with them both.
The rest of the case, against big banks that...

Filings in Newport News Circuit Court show that judicial orders allowing police to obtain telephone records during criminal investigations have jumped dramatically in recent years.
Judges have signed off on 221 such orders in Newport News since 2008...